The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-23
CIRCUMsrANTIAL EVIDENCE.
Its Operation in the Case of CIuverius-Two
Other Remarkable Instances.

Its Operation in the Case of Cluverius-Two
Other Remarkable Instances.
Special to the Indianapolis journal.
WAsIIINGToN, Jan. % Although from five to
fifteen executions occur annually at the Jail in
this District. and hangings excite but little in
terest generally in Washington, there has been
. great deal said about the execution of Cluve-
RUS, on the 14th inst. This is moro because of
the extreme doubt exlstnein the minds of many
people as 10 his guilt than on account of the
close proximity to the national Capital of the
State in which the execution occurred Wash
ington is largely composed of hot-leads and i'm
pulsive characters, little given to sympathy and
largely believing in capital punishment but
great deal of sympathy is expressed with the man
whose soul was flashed into eternity, full of
blood and guilt, or spotless as to the crime
charged against the culprit who possessed it.
1t will he remembered that one of the strong
links in the testimony that convicted Cluverius
was a watch key found near the reservoir from
which the corpse of Lillian Madison was taken a
few days after her murder or suicide. This
watch-key was an unusual one and was denti-
fed by jeveler as tho property of the culprit
at Ieaet the ieweler knew of no other Kew like
it. and knew that Cluverius had one just like it.
In any HIGHT the case can be put Cluverius was
convicted solely uron crcnmstant;al evidence
and had he been tried in PENNSYLVANIA or one of
tlrae or four other States where conviction upon
circumstantial evidence will not, under the Con-
stitntion or statutes, permit sentence of death
he would have been alive to- day. An Ohio states
nan. discussing the conviction and execution of
Cluverins, said:
I'm my State few years ago man was con-
v'cted of murder in the first degree and hanged
upon testimony four-foId stronger than that
which condemned Cluverus, and years after
ward It was developed that he was as innocent
as person conld be- whole family living in
the country was discovered to have been muir
dered There was hand on the place named
Wilson, who had club foot and the thumb off
his right hand, who disappeared at the time the
murder was committed and Of course he was
instantly charged with the crime. In looking
about the honse footprints of a man having de-,
formed foot were discovered; Also the print of a
blood stained hand on the door facing which dis
closed the loss of n thumb. The farm hand was
found, tried, and, on the strength of this EVIL
dence of the crime against him was found guilty
ana executed The links of testimony were SO
complete from the prints in the ward about the
house and the hand on the wall that everybody
was satisfied with the exnation of tie crime
Years passed and criminal Law on his death
he'd at Columbus. just before ne breathed his
last he confessed that he had committed tho
murders for which the other man had spffered
Examination showed that he had the deformed
foot and the loss OF the thumbon the right hand
Near Muncie, Ind, about ten years ago. a
barn was burned one night and a great deal of
property destroyed A harmless old shoemaker
was charged with tho arson, thrown in Jail, and
few weeks afterward brought to trial. A de.
tective who had been employed to ferret out the
guilty person, and who made the affidavis that
the shoemaker burned the barn. took the jury
out to the scene of the fire and showed that the
boots the shosm had fitted tracks made
about the place on the night of the fire, and
traced the tracks TO the old mans home in the
city. He also produced piece of cloth from
the seat of the shoemaker's pantaloons which he
found under splinter on rsil on the top of the
fence near where the barn stood, and where the
tracks showed thar the prisoner had left the
premises The case made complete on this
testimony. When the prisoner was about to be
found guilty il was discovered that the detective.
short time after the shoemaker was thrown
In jail. had feigned drunkenness been
srrestsd and thrown in JAIL and ia
the came cell with the prisoner, where he re-
manned over night The detective was released
the next day, and day or two afterwards he
repeated the act. 1t discovered, further,
that no had torn the piece OF cloth from. the
pantaloons of the prisoner while the latter was